


Fangs

by MrAndig



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Jealous Catra (She-Ra), Oblivious Adora (She-Ra), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:14:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26537902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrAndig/pseuds/MrAndig
Summary: "Seeing Mara again was strange, that’s for sure. Up until now, Adora always admired how well Mara kept herself: a picture of poise and perfection. Hair usually pulled up in a nice, thick rope of a braid, high on her head. Full lips that marked the gateway to the nicest teeth she’d ever seen. Mara had always been so naturally pretty, something Adora had secretly envied and wished for herself when she was a chubby little kid with braces. Now, however, Adora noted the bags under Mara’s eyes and how her smile didn’t quite shine like it used to. Her once tan and well defined complexion now lost and replaced with something bordering ghostly. The shoulders she kept back and held high had a bit of a slump to them - as if carrying her own body weight was the last thing Mara wanted to be doing.Maybe Adora wasn’t the only one struggling with their most recent loss."After an accident that kills her parents, Adora moves cross country to live with her older sister, Mara. Adora is certain that nothing good could come out of this gloom and doom town - that is, until she meets Catra.Vampire AU.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo, this is my first attempt at writing a fanfic, ever. Hope you guys are into it.
> 
> For some reason, this idea just wouldn't leave my head. If you're into the long stuff, you've found just the place. 
> 
> Just for reference: this isn't really entirely based off of any concrete vampire stereotypes, but I did recently re-visit Twilight and watch Castlevania, so there are some elements that I borrowed. Whoops.
> 
> Comments and criticisms always welcome.
> 
> No characters are my own :P

It was cold. 

That was her first thought, as she sat hunched over with her jacket zipped up as high as it would go. Fiddling with a pocket hand warmer, she cursed her older sister’s name as it became all the more obvious she had forgotten to pick her up.

“Fuck”

It really was the perfect word to sum up what she was feeling right now. How could one place be so cold? How the fuck did she end up here? While she didn’t necessarily want to spiral down THAT rabbit hole, she figured there was at least one circumstance she could try to take control of.

She dug around in her pockets trying to find her phone and give her sister another ring. She didn’t really believe in God, but she silently prayed that Mara would pick up this time and rescue her from what she swore were the first stages of hypothermia.

“Hi! You’ve reached Mara, sorry but I’m actually pretty busy and can’t answer-“

She hung up the voicemail message, again.

“Damn it!”

Adora considered her options. Sitting on this curb was really getting uncomfortable, despite her pants doing a spectacular job at covering her legs from both the cold and the gravel. She looked around to try and gauge her surroundings. To her right, there was a bench with what looked like a homeless woman sleeping on it, bundled up in various blankets or clothing items to keep the cold out. To her left was the airport that she had made her way out of some time ago. Admittedly, she could walk back in there, but she had already settled on this curb and her bags were rather heavy and she didn’t really want anyone to approach her or feel the need to come talk to her. She’d been told by her friends that she had a pretty rocking resting bitch face, but somehow, whenever she wanted to channel it most, people came up and would chat her up like she had a sign saying “talk to me! I enjoy human interaction and want to be your friend!”

That last thought made the corners of her lip turn up - maybe the cold was getting to her a little more than she initially thought.

Her musings circled back to her current predicament. She could try and call an Uber? That also remained entirely dependent on how expensive they were in this town. Though, by the looks of it, she had counted barely any people wandering about thus far. That fact alone made her seriously doubt the Uber could cost more than ten bucks. How much money did she even have right now? Her last job had some stupid policy about not getting your last full paycheck if you don’t give two weeks notice, so she knew she was on the shorter end of the stick these days. Sorry she couldn’t predict her whole life flipping upside down early enough to give notice.

She thinks back to how much she currently has. She fumbles with her phone a bit, as trying to swipe between apps was a tad bit difficult given her gloved hands, but finally logs on to check her bank account. $32.77? Really rolling in the dough now, aren’t we. She knew she shouldn’t have splurged on that pretzel before her departing flight - it had smelled so good though, and she knew the five hour flight would be all the more brutal without some kind of sustenance beforehand. How could anyone not buy one given those circumstances?

Pulling her thoughts away from warm, doughy bread, she continues down her list of options. She could also... walk. Though the longer she tries to piece together the route to Mara’s house, the fuzzier she realized said memory was. Not to mention, she did have luggage with her and there was no way she’d be able to carry it all. No matter how fit she prided herself on being, the thought alone was enough to make her groan internally.

As she’s contemplating just how much she can breakdown her money to last her until she can secure some kind of job (math never really was her strong suit but damn she is pretty broke at the moment), the phone rings her out of her thoughts. Thankfully, it’s just the person she’s been trying to get ahold of for the last hour.

“Adora!! I am so sorry!! I can’t believe I forgot it was today!”

Forgot: Of course she did. There were very few things Mara seemed to remember when it came to her younger sister.

If you asked the blonde teen, Adora and her parents held a very special place at the very bottom of Mara’s “things I care about” list. Although, in light of recent events, she figures she’s the only one at the very bottom of that list now.

Oh no. Don’t do it - don’t think about that kinda stuff right now, Adora thought.

Remembering she was in fact on the phone with another person, Adora presses the phone a little closer to her face, almost as if to re-ground herself back into reality. “It’s fine Mara. Where are you now?”

“Only five minutes. I swear I’ll be there soon. I’ll definitely make it up to you too! Maybe we can get food or have a girls night in? That sounds fun right?”

Weighing these new options, Adora couldn’t find it in herself to care. She just wanted to get out of the cold and take some kind of shower. While food did sound like a great idea, she wasn’t too keen on spending anytime with anyone right now; especially her sister. A small part of her did appreciate the effort (if you could really call it that, Mara did leave her stranded for an hour in the freezing cold at some random airport in some random town) Mara was making to spend time together, Adora just wanted to be alone. She’d worry about Mara and unpacking tomorrow.

“Actually, I think I’m gonna turn in early tonight. Jet lag and all that fun stuff” she could see some headlights driving in her direction now, but Adora looked away for the sake of preserving her eyesight.

“Oh yeah, no I completely understand. I’m pulling up now! Wait - Is that you in the red jacket? I’m flashing my lights can you see me?”

Adora looked up again and sure enough the old ‘80s Pontiac Trans Am came into view.

It was a miracle that thing still ran. Although, if there was one thing Mara had always prided herself on, it was taking care of her cars. Not hard to believe since her sister was some kind of engineer or another. She was a bit of a geek in that way. Adora almost smiled at seeing this spaceship on wheels pull up to where she sat on the curb with her bags.

Almost being the key word.

As the car rolled to a stop, Adora stood. Somehow, despite her waning energy, a bout of butterflies erupted in her stomach. Seeing Mara again was strange, that’s for sure. Up until now, Adora always admired how well Mara kept herself: a picture of poise and perfection. Hair usually pulled up in a nice, thick rope of a braid, high on her head. Full lips that marked the gateway to the nicest teeth she’d ever seen. Mara had always been so naturally pretty, something Adora had secretly envied and wished for herself when she was a chubby little kid with braces. Now, however, Adora noted the bags under Mara’s eyes and how her smile didn’t quite shine like it used to. Her once tan and well defined complexion now lost and replaced with something bordering ghostly. The shoulders she kept back and held high had a bit of a slump to them - as if carrying her own body weight was the last thing Mara wanted to be doing.

Maybe Adora wasn’t the only one struggling with their most recent loss.

Her sister makes her way out of the car. “Hi Mara - it’s been... awhile” Adora sighed that last bit out. Not that she really meant to, but after sitting outside of an airport in 20 degree weather with just a long sleeve and a red jacket that truthfully was more for style than it was warmth, she felt she deserved to have a little apprehension with her older sister.

Older sister. When was the last time Adora had even seen Mara? Ten years? Yeah, Adora is fairly certain she was seven the last time she saw her sister. They weren’t the closest because of their wider age gap but family is family. Or that’s what Adora considered the only reason she was here to begin with. Despite their considerable differences, Mara could have called. Could have visited.

Could have been there.

No, now ISN’T the time to think about what could have been, Adora chastises herself. Adora is lucky that her sister is here now. Even if “here” means halfway across the continental US and landed her in some barely existent town apparently named Brightmoon. Seriously, how could you name a town Brightmoon if there is absolutely nothing bright here? It was just barely 7pm and it could’ve passed as almost midnight. In fact, as far as Adora had been able to discern, not many streetlights or people were out to light the streets. Brightmoon, sure.

Adora sighed again.

Mara walked over to Adora’s side of the car, keeping some distance between the two estranged siblings but not too much to be awkward about. “Oh Adora, I really am sorry. I completely lost track of time and truthfully I somehow convinced myself you were coming in tomorrow instead of today and you must’ve been freezing and alone and hungry and I can’t believe I-“

Adora really didn’t need to hear all of this. Yeah sure, it was all mostly true, but she had already lived it and was ready to just get in the car and go back to Mara’s place. “Mara!”

The older woman choked a bit as she was cut off. Adora wasn’t trying to be rude, she just really wanted to get out of the cold.

“It’s okay Mara. I just.. can we go back to your place? I really am just looking to shower and crash for the night”

Mara’s place. The crux of it all, right there, laid bare in the open between the two of them. The chasm between the two Grayskull sisters was obvious, not so much in the tone Adora used, but the words she chose to use when she said it.

Just Mara’s place. Would it ever really be Adora’s too?

Too much too soon - Adora couldn’t handle thoughts like that right now. She was almost on empty, ready for her autopilot feature to just take over and run her through the motions of just doing. Existing without pretense, really.

She just had to make it back to the house. When that would be, Adora wasn’t too sure as they both still stood outside of the car with Adora’s bags still on the curb. Adora had to use up whatever reserve of willpower she had left not to sigh again. She wouldn’t hurt Mara’s feelings that much in one night.

“Yeah of course! Wow okay here you get in, I’ll grab your bags okay? Just sit tight - the heater’s already warmed up so put it to whatever setting you’d like. This will take only a quick sec”

Mara quickly began picking up Adora’s things, a whopping 3 bag lottery, and fumbled with her keys to open up the trunk of the car. Adora took up Mara’s offer and sank into the passenger seat of the car, immediately cranking up the heat and clicking in her seatbelt. She sank a bit further, just enough so her neck was completely against the seat and her head was resting comfortably along the seat back. She took stock of the car she was in - it really hadn’t changed too much in the ten years that had passed. The cushions were the same, still a nice brown leather that absorbed you in all the right ways a seat should. The heater was working marvelously, thawing away the ice that had taken residence on Adora’s exposed limbs and turned her fingertips a light shade of blue. The biggest change Adora could find was the radio: It looked like Mara had switched out the old dial one for a newer version that lets you connect a phone and a charger. Despite the radio being a recent model, it still fit really well with the aesthetic of the car as a whole - in the end, not the worst change for a car this old.

The trunk slammed shut but Adora didn’t even flinch. Her exhaustion kicking into overdrive as she relaxed further with the rolling waves of heat pumping out of the car’s heater.

“Alright we’re ready to go!” Mara started as she saddled into the drivers seat “let’s get home and get you settled in”

Adora closed her eyes.

In another life, Adora would still be home in Florida. It’s a Saturday night so she’d probably be at her high school’s football game, losing her voice with her friends as they cheered the players on. Then as a means of making amends with her vocal chords, go get a milkshake to sooth the grittiness away afterwards.

In another life, her parents wouldn’t have gone out the night that they did.

She squeezed her already shut eyes a little tighter at the thought. She hated thinking about her parents nowadays, all of her memories of them were tainted with pain and anger and frustrations she couldn’t shake.

In another life, she’d still be happy.

“Hey Adora, we’re here”

Maybe she zoned out more than she intended to. She hadn’t seen any of the roads they took to get back here, and if Adora is stuck here for the next couple of years, she figured it’d probably be a good idea to start learning the streets of Brightmoon.

Oh well, another thing to worry about tomorrow.

Mara cuts the car off and the engine splutters a little. There’s a bit of hesitation before she gets out, but as she does she tells Adora not to worry about the bags and to take the key and head inside.

The house is dark when Adora pushes open the door. Quiet and calming, it’s the smell of oak and pines that ease the remainder of the butterflies still fluttering about in her stomach. Though, on second thought, that could just be the exhaustion reaching its peak.

Mara makes her way up to the front of the house and they both cross the threshold into the little foyer. Adora would love nothing more than to run up the stairs and lock herself away in her room and pass out for the night, but instead she turns to Mara and goes to grab her bags.

“Thanks, Mara.”

There’s a weight she didn’t mean to place behind those words. She can see the tears prick at the corner of her older sister’s eyes and that’s more emotion than Adora can stand right now.

With one last hint of a smile, she grabs her bags and trudges up the stairs with them. There are only three rooms upstairs, with two of the doors opened revealing a bathroom and one lit with a soft lamp light.

Adora opens the third door.

The room is completely bare, sans the bed pushed up in the corner of the back wall and the dresser on the opposite side. She takes a couple of steps in and sees that she has a decent sized closet that she may get some use of out of.

She looks down at her three bags again. Maybe not.

Adora strips down, no longer considering showering for the night. She’s lost the battle with exhaustion, wanting nothing more than to curl up under her sheets and sleep.

She settles under the covers, eyes lowering heavily, waiting for the darkness to take over.

In the peripherals of her mind, she can hear Mara make her way up the stairs, footsteps heavy for someone who is usually quite agile and quick on her feet.

Adora briefly wonders if she will ever stop feeling so heavy herself.

Sleep takes over rather harshly after that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay, hope you all enjoy!
> 
> As always, comments, criticisms, and thoughts welcome

For someone who was a rather chaotic sleeper, waking up in the same position she fell asleep in was weird for Adora. 

Normally, she found herself at a diagonal or practically upside down on her bed when she awoke, but today, or rather last night, it seems her body decided that the way she fell asleep was good enough to stay in the whole night.

Despite her eyes being closed, she could feel the light against her eyelids. She groaned, wishing that she had remembered to close the curtains last night so the morning rays wouldn’t disturb her. Though the sun wasn’t quite up just yet, the bare walls and lack of curtain shade gave the room an uncomfortable glow. If it had been up to her, she would have spent a large portion of her Sunday sleeping around in this new bed, forgoing all responsibilities and human interaction. Yet here she was, wide awake hours before hoping to be, eyes barely adjusted, with fragments of light beginning to spill in, lying in a bed that was only hers as of last night.

The young blonde felt around for her phone. She didn’t have an alarm clock for her room just yet, and from what she could tell, Gloomymoon’s (a name she decided was much more fitting than Brightmoon) sun was nowhere near as bright as Florida’s was. She really had no idea what time it was.

Finally, her fingers hit something much harder than her mattress. She pulls out her phone from her sheets and clicks it on.

5:03 am.

The hell? So it looks like midnight at 7pm but by 5 the sun is threatening to break the threshold of the horizon? Okay.

She closed her eyes again, willing and wishing herself to fall back asleep into whatever dark bliss she had fallen into last night. Despite how exhausted she had felt the night before, she figured she should thank it for taking over because her nightmares had managed to stay away too.

Even if it was only for the night, Adora was glad for the reprieve.

She didn’t always have nightmares, but for the last month they had been more awful than not, and with school starting tomorrow, she wanted all the rest she could get.

Fuck. School.

It was already a month and a half into her junior year. She had spent the last two years making friends and joining clubs and working on herself to make sure she could get into a decent college so as to not worry her parents with loans or minimal career options. She didn’t really know what she wanted to do or be yet, but she knew she wanted to keep up with her education and do something meaningful with her life. She’d always had a knack for history and biology, but had no idea if it was possible to pursue both. Maybe before, she would have thought of a way to combine the two with her old high school’s advisor.

That all kind of got thrown out the window the moment she bought the ticket to Brightmoon.

Ugh, 5 am and she was already working herself up into a tizzy, a new record. She needed something to ground her. She needed to make a list. Lists helped. Accepting that she would not be falling back asleep, the youngest Grayskull pulled up her phone again with the notes app at the ready.

How to Manage Yourself After Your Life Has Been Completely Turned Upside Down:

(A little dramatic, but it’s also five in the morning and that’s truly how she feels about her whole situation at the moment)

  1. Shower



That was definitely the winner for spot number one. In retrospect, showering last night would have been ideal especially with everything that happened the previous day, but this was also an easy fix for today. If there’s one thing Adora took pleasure in, it was crossing off things from her lists - it was arguably just as satisfying as coming up with them.

2\. Eat breakfast

Another easy win. Hopefully since it was just barely dawn, that meant she could avoid Mara for a bit too and enjoy her breakfast by herself.

3\. Unpack

4\. Speak to Mara

An uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach after that fourth item. She really wanted to write “say good morning to Mara” but she figures she also needed to find out where her school was and what else is located in this gloom and doom town.

5\. Explore the town

6\. Look for a job

She really hated being broke.

7\. Prepare for tomorrow

She mulled over a few other things after that last point, but decided on ending her list there. It was a Sunday after all and she did have to worry about school tomorrow.

With her list completed and her anxiety quelled, Adora rolls out of bed, shuffles through her things managing to grab her shower necessities, and makes her way to the bathroom.

The hot water on her body feels glorious.

Just like the steam fogging up the bathroom, her mind hazes just enough for her muscles to relax. She doesn’t spend too much time showering, despite her wishes to spend the next hour blanketed by the steam with the hot water beating down on her skin. But with her tasks for the day already outlined, she could only enjoy relaxing so much. With that thought airing out her internal fuzz she finishes much too quickly for her liking and makes her way back to her room. Looking over the list again, she realizes she isn’t quite hungry yet, so she figures she’d switch around items two and three.

As she drapes the towel on the back of her closet door, she gets to unpacking in no time.

Unzipping the first bag is unsettling.

She falters for a second, twiddling the zipper between her fingers. Its weird, unpacking her entire life like this.

Up until this point, she and her family had lived in the same house her entire life. Her room had gone through several phases every couple of years, but her parents never minded. She was allowed to express herself as she sought fit, whether it be a poster of Scooby Doo and the gang or Charlie’s Angels posing their ever notorious bad girl stance. Years went by and posters changed but she still had memorabilia that she clung on to. She figured her room would be hers until the day she left for college.

Her parents’ death changed all that. When Adora found out she’d be leaving to go live with her sister, she tore up everything that reminded her of her parents and just about anything that reminded her of her life before.

That’s why she was able to pack everything she owned up into three bags. It was pretty much just clothes and shoes she brought.

With the last jacket hung up in it’s designated color area, Adora marked another item off of her list. Just in time too, as her stomach let out a sound to make itself known.

Quietly shifting through the kitchen, Adora was grateful that Mara at least remembered to go grocery shopping.

She made up a hearty breakfast to last her through her next tasks - some eggs, sausage, and the last two waffles she found in the freezer. And just as she had hoped, Mara appeared to be sound asleep and nowhere downstairs.

Looks like number four would have to wait. Adora wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse.

Cleaning up the dishes and the little mess she made, she quietly makes her way to the front of her house. It’s barely 8 am, but she figures some things may be open now and exploring the town wouldn’t hurt.

She slips on her red chucks and grabs the lone key she sees hanging off the holder. After testing it to make sure it’s the right one, she locks up and slips it into her pocket.

Although Adora had her license, she was nowhere near bold enough to borrow her sister’s car without asking. And despite being apart for ten years, she knows her sister is rather fit and bound to have a bike somewhere. Maybe on day not as chilly as today, she wouldn’t mind walking around and checking things out. Adora had no idea if gyms even existed in towns like this - she’d have to keep up her workouts somehow.

Circling around the back of the house, she hoped her gut was right about the bike. She’d bundled up appropriately today, and biking sounded like the most convenient way to get around right now. Plus, it’ll make it harder for people to approach her or speak with her, which is an automatic win in her books.

Thankfully, she finds a bike leaning on the back wall of the house, with no chains or locks, just casually propped up there. People in Brightmoon were weird. Didn’t Mara know that people steal things?

Adora chuckled sardonically at that. Maybe people here didn’t steal, but her taking Mara’s bike without her knowledge might scare her enough to buy a lock and chain.

She tests the wheels briefly to make sure they aren’t flat and walks the bike to the main road. The bike feels sturdy, and it’s obvious that it’s been tinkered with. She sees gears that she has no idea what they could be used for; perhaps if she wanted to bike up a mountain range this would be the bike to get her to the top. Reassured she made the right decision, she pulls up Maps on her phone just to make sure she’s headed in the right direction, and with one final push off, she’s pedaling away.

Seeing Brightmoon in the morning light, her first thought is that Brightmoon is almost overwhelmingly green.

There are trees Adora has never seen before, at least not in person. Florida really just had palm trees and banana trees (which she later learned were actually just the largest form of grass to exist), but here in Brightmoon dark trunks laid bloom to some of the tallest and prettiest trees she’d ever seen. Their foliage a deep, dark chlorophyll that fills her with peace as she pedals on. She can see breaks between the brush every now and then with what she presumes are driveways to other houses, but straight ahead is just a sea of green and a road acting as almost a bridge between the two raging sides.

It’s nice, she decides.

After another couple of miles or so, she can begin to see many more breaks before eventually the trees stop altogether. She brakes too, and takes a look at the town in front of her.

The road she had pedaled down was slightly higher in elevation than the rest of the town, so she had a pretty nice view of it as a whole. Her first thought is that it is way smaller than she’s used to. Like... way smaller. She wouldn’t really call herself a city girl but she’s pretty sure her high school back home could qualify as half of Brightmoon’s current population. Plus, if you can see where a town begins and where it ends then she was pretty sure that categorized it as small.

Kicking off again, she makes her way into what she presumes is “downtown”. This area looks at least somewhat populated, as Adora can see a few people popping in and out of several businesses and walking along the side walks.

They all kind of look the same if you ask her.

When she’s perched at the next stop light, she chances a glance to her left and sees what looks like some kind of hardware store.

"Help wanted" reads the hand written sign on the window.

It takes Adora all of two seconds to decide what to do next.

Figuring that Mara had felt comfortable enough to not chain the bike beforehand, Adora props it up against the front wall of the establishment and heads inside.

_Please be open, please be open_ she internally chants.

The door swings open wildly and the first thing that happens is she’s greeted by tools. Mountains of them.

With only the sound of some kind of unidentifiable artist singing in the background, Adora can already tell there is absolutely no one in this store.

Are they sure they need help?

Adora carefully walks around this giant mechanic’s box near the entrance of the store. It looks like someone half hazardously threw whatever spare tools and materials they had with them right on top, making some rickety version of the leaning tower of Pisa.

Adora would not be the one to knock it down. No way.

Checking first with the counter up front, Adora doesn’t find anyone. No bell either, so it’s not like she can ding someone to where she is.

She turns away from the front and chances a wild guess down a somewhat less cluttered aisle.

“Uhh.. hello?”

_Clang!_ Well something heavy definitely just fell.

“Hello!! Just a minute dearie!!” Came a reply from.. from.. really Adora had no idea where. There looked to be two or three back rooms and with the piles of tools and supplies, she couldn’t be sure that no one was behind them watching her anyways.

“Is that you, Mara dearie?”

Adora bristled. A part of her knew that no one in this town knew her, but to be confused for Mara already? That was kind of a new record. They didn’t look alike at all, at least beyond their steel blue eyes, but something about being compared to her sister never really sat right with Adora.

When an older, rather frazzled looking woman popped out from behind a pile of brooms, Adora decided it wasn’t worth being upset over.

Clearing her throat for no reason, considering this woman was in no way privy to the inner dialogue Adora previously held with herself, she answered clearly: “Actually, my name is Adora. But Mara is my sister.”

Adora looked at the woman before her. She had thick, fluffy looking hair that probably would have looked a tad bit better if she bothered to maintain it with the right products. She wore an ankle long pink dress, topped with a purple shawl, which really fit her well given her shorter stature and rounder features. Her glasses, which were also purple, were a bit big, but she made them work.

The most notable aspect about this woman, however, was that she seemed so kind.

There is a warmth in her amber eyes that Adora doesn’t think she’s ever seen before. Even her mother, who Adora used to revere for her wisdom and soft spoken nature, couldn’t compare to the warmth rolling off of this woman.

“Adora? Oh yes! Mara told me you’d be coming by soon. Wow she really meant soon too, huh?”

Mara had talked about her? Mara had talked about her with the townsfolk?

Before Adora could really dwell on that thought, the older woman continued:

“Adora, dearie. My name is Razz. I am very pleased to finally meet you.”

She looked over Razz again. While the woman seemed kind, now she was having doubts on whether or not she should ask for the job. How often did Mara come in here? She didn’t want to have to worry about her sister coming in, especially on the days she knew she’d need to get away from the older Grayskull sibling.

But.. then again, how many places would hire a 17 year old? Especially in a town like this.

Adora decided she might as well ask.

“Hi, uh, Razz. I actually saw your ‘help wanted’ sign up front. I just got into town last night and could really use a job. I have some experience working at a convenience store so I’m not a total mess when it comes to shop dynamics and I think I’m pretty okay with customers even the bad ones though they get on everyone’s nerves so-“

The older woman's chuckle shuts down Adora’s rambling.

Maybe her and Mara were pretty similar after all. Word vomit seemed to be a strong characteristic for the two of them.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble.”

Now it was Razz’s turn to take a look at the youngest Grayskull. She did a once over and looked like she came to some conclusion rather quickly.

“Aha! That’s quite alright, dearie. I’ll hire you. I can see you’ve got spunk and that’s the only prerequisite I require to work here”

Spunk?

“How soon do you want to start? I know you mentioned you just got here so if you want, we can make arrangements for next Saturday to be your first day?”

Adora’s head was spinning. Had she really landed a job? Can she already mark that off her list?

Remembering she was expected to give an answer, Adora began shaking her head vigorously. “Wow yes, yes! I mean, honestly I have no qualms about starting now if you want to just walk me around the store and show me around. I don’t really have much else going on today”

Razz chuckled at Adora’s enthusiasm. Which really couldn’t be helped, considering all things.

She got a job!

Razz walked her through the very beginnings of what she needed help with which was.. a lot to say the least. It appeared that Razz was the town and county’s go to supplier of all things hardware. She bought, sold, traded, created all things to help construct whatever your heart desired. The more Razz spoke, the more Adora felt at ease. Her job would be mainly cataloging and reorganizing - something Adora already did for herself in her free time.

When 1 o’clock rolled around, Razz let Adora go for the day. Today really was just about getting a feel for what she’d be doing and Razz told her she never worked a full day on Sundays anyways.

Exiting the building, Adora took two steps outside before she noticed a boy standing next to her bike.

He looked over at her, eyes wide and teeth on full display.

“Is this your bike? Oh WOW I can’t believe it’s been modified like this! How did you get it fixed up to have all these gear settings? You have to teach me!”

Stunned and completely unsure of what to say, because really, how is it that even bikes manage to draw attention to her, Adora gapes at the boy in front of her.

“Oh right, I’m sorry. I probably should have introduced myself first. I’m Bow.” Even while speaking he managed to keep his smile wide, practically blinding Adora with its earnestness.

Blinking slowly to regroup her thoughts, Adora takes in the person beaming at her. He’s taller than her, probably somewhere around 5’10, and has a much darker complexion. His hair is nicely kept and shaved off on the sides and has some great volume if she’s being honest. Despite being blinded by it, he really does have a warm smile and a rather attractive physique. Not that she was really checking him out like that but he was wearing a crop top after all. (How he managed that in this weather, she couldn’t be sure).

Something about him screamed confidence and Adora could appreciate that.

Maybe if she wasn’t a player for the same team (opposite team? She always got it mixed up) she might have been attracted to him.

“Uhh. I’m bike and don’t know anything about Adoras.”

Wait. _Wait._ Shit!

“I mean I’m Adora!! And sorry; I don’t know anything about that bike or it’s gears.”

Phew, a nice recovery.

The boy finally seemed to be closing his mouth and arched an eyebrow at her. God, she’s sure she’ll be seeing the afterimage of his teeth for the next hour or so.

“Wait, really? That’s too bad. Regardless, it’s nice to meet you. You’re new huh? I’ve never seen you around before. And let’s be real: it’s not like Brightmoon is a big enough city that we wouldn’t have at least seen each other in passing before.”

Damn, she’s already being dealt the “new girl” card and school doesn’t start for another day.

Better to get used to it now.

“Yeah, I just moved into town yesterday.”

Bow smiled warmly at her now, his expression going softer as if he knew how much it sucked to be new to town. “Well I’m glad I got to meet you before tomorrow! I’m assuming you’re going to Brightmoon High? If you want, maybe I can show you to your classes or even eat lunch with you so you’re not all alone. Ooo!! And I’ll introduce you to Glimmer!!”

_Did he just say he’ll introduce me to glitter?_

He probably said a few more important things after that, but Adora had already begun tuning him out. Her thoughts straying to people battered in glitter and how terrifying that would actually be. How would you get any of that out of your clothes? Or you hair?

Her mental distress pauses as she realizes that Bow has stopped talking and started looking at her a bit more expectedly, probably because she owes him some kind of response.

“Sure, tomorrow then.”

The lack of opening seems to be all the hint Bow needs to end the conversation where it is. He asks for her phone which Adora surprisingly hands over without hesitation, and plugs in his name, number, and a little winged bow emoji next to it.

Adora snorts. How fitting.

Bow steps back and leaves her with a “see ya tomorrow, Adora!” as he makes his way down the opposite direction Adora plans on going. Guess there are some small victories worth cherishing.

With the sun at its peak in the sky, Adora decides its time to head back. Though she made a considerable dent in her list for the day, she still has yet to face the most daunting one.

Time to talk to Mara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Catra will make her appearance soon ;)


End file.
